April 29, 2009

Did I ask for Sunny days? :D I asked and I got them!! Man! It's so hot here, had a headache running around the town doing chores but my plants are growing fast and furious, it's a joy to watch. All the herbs and Curry leaf plant are on the deck and loving the heat. One drawback of hot and sunny days is you don't feel like standing in front of hot stove now and cook which was a comfort in Winter but have to do at least 3 meals a day anyway! Tushar had his Guitar concert last night, his last concert in middle school, enjoyed that too! :)

You must be wondering why am I so busy these days that I am even missing few posts to comment because of lack of time! Well..I will tell you next Wednesday! :)

I made some slightly familiar sounding Iranian dishes last week, loved the taste of the rice and cooling Spinach salad, mainly influenced by the book "Rosewater and Soda bread" by Marsha Mehran, which is second book. I loved her first book "Pomegranate Soup", so read her second one too curious to know what happened to 3 Iranian sisters who escaped form Iran to Ireland. Moong gravy was yummy and dessert with bread slice made it so easy to thicken faster in the MW. Enjoy the feast!

Iranian Baghali Polou with Borani-Ye Esfenaj, spicy Moong and coconut milk gravy and Almond Rabri for dessert on a platter:Baghali Polou/Polow/Polo and Borani recipes are mostly adapted from a Iranian cookbook by Najmieh K. Batmanglij with my slight changes, who is also the author of "Silk Road Cooking-A vegetarian Journey". Fava beans are added to this rice dish usually but I didn't find those. I replaced it with green and white baby Lima beans. Moong dish is from Lisa's kitchen and Rabri of course is an easy traditional Indian dessert, I made it easier using Microwave and improvised the recipe too. Enjoy making them, always good to try new tastes! :)

Moong and coconut milk soup from "Lisa's Kitchen":I know most Indians love green Moong and make various tasty dishes with it for rice dishes or Parathas on the side. I chose this recipe from Lisa's kitchen for "T and T"event which looked so delcious, added 1/4 cup thick coconut milk and some Yogurt but mostly followed the rest of the recipe as same as the original. Soup or bhaji as we say is delicious and spicy. It tasted great with the less spicy Dill and Lima beans rice and very nutritious too and also tastes good with Pooris. Here is the original recipe for Moong soup from Lisa's Kitchen.

Iranian Baghali Polou/Dill, Lima beans (could also use Fava beans) and saffron rice:Here is a very simple and very flavorful with Polou/Pulao Iranian style. With added Dill and Lima beans (Fava beans) and hardly any strong spices, it makes a wonderful accompaniment for any spicy dal or meat gravies along with a salad. You can also add Gosht/Lamb into it to make a non-veg Polou. Usually, all the the ingrdients are added to a dish, covered and cooked in enough water just like Biryani/Pulao to serve.But I cooked rice separately and then mixed with seasoned Dill and Lima beans which retains the brilliant color of Dill and beans and they don't get too mushy. I reserved some rice and mixed with saffron and salt to serve on top of Dill rice to make this dish attractive as they do in the restaurants. You can mix all this up with Saffron milk and cook for convenience.

Season:1 tbsp butter,1 small onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic, minced, 1/4 red chilli flakes, 2 cups chopped Dill leaves, cooked Lima beans, salt and pepper.Here is how I made it:1. Cook 2 cups Basmati or long grain rice with 3 1/2 cups of water or cook as usual you do for yourself with 1 tsp butter and 1/4 tsp salt added. When cooked, take out 1 cup of rice, add a pinch of saffron mixed with 1 tbsp of warm milk and mix well. Let it cool.

2. Heat 1 tbsp butter, saute 1 small onion finely chopped, 2 garlic chopped fine, 1/4 tsp red Chilli flakes for a minute.Add cups of fresh Dill leaves with a pinch of salt, saute.3. Add cooked Lima beans and enough pepper to taste.4. Add this to cooked white rice and mix well, adjust the salt and pepper. To serve, spoon the Dill rice first and then top with Saffron rice or you can mix both these and serve with spicy gravy and cool Spinach-Yogurt salad.

Iranian Borani-Ye Esfenaj/Spinach, onion and Yogurt salad:A popular Spinach and Yogurt salad from Iran, this is served with Baghali Polou on the side. Borani is salad and Esfenaj means Spinach. Very simple and quick salad to make, tastes great with any knid of Indian Pulavs too.

Moong and Coconut milk Bhaji:Same as the above Moong recipe but I made it thicker than the soup consistency and added 3 tbsp thick plain Yogurt at the end of cooking to give it a little tang instead of adding lemon juice and simmered it down on low heat until the sauce is thick. Other than that, I followed the same recipe as it is at Lisa's Kitchen.

Microwaved Almond Rabri:Rabri or Rabdi, traditionally is a thick concentrated milk with sugar, Cardamom and nuts added. I made an unusual and non-traditional Rabri in the Microwave with fat free Evaporated milk, Almonds, lot less sugar (you can add as much as you want) and a surprise ingredient!! Enjoy.

You need:

1 1/2 cup or 12oz canned Fat-free Evaporated Milk, 1/2 cup Almond, skinless and chopped, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 slice crustless bread (I added a slice of Cinnamon and Raisin bread, didn't add Cardamom pd in this Rabri), 1/2 tsp ghee, few strands of saffron and 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder.To make it:1. Grind Almonds, sugar and bread slice with 1/2 cup of Evaporated milk until smooth, add rest of the milk and process until mixed.2. Add this to a deep tall microwavable bowl or glass bowl along with ghee and Saffron, heat for 5 mins making sure it's not spilling over. Stir and heat again for 2 more minutes.3. It thicken faster because of the Almonds and bread, so be careful not to cook it for too long. Add Cardamom pd and mix well.4. Exactly how mins to cook depends on your Microwave. Just MW until you get the thick sauce of Rabri. Adjust sugar as well to your taste.Serve Rabri garnished with Almonds or Pistachios if you like. You can serve this warm or chilled.

Logos, Hosts and events, my thanks to all of you guest hosts and hosts, enjoy! :)

******************************************************************************************************My own tried and tasted recipes from other blogs. Thanks to all of you for posting these delicious dishes, loved them! :)

Frost/Nixon!YAY! I was waiting to get my hands on this movie for a week now, I got it y'day at last! :)

You will love this movie if you are into politics, know about Watergate and 37th president Richard Nixon scandal, only president who resigned from "office" in his second term in the history of USA. It's amazing how a president can be so blatant, in denial, arrogant (drunk too sometimes but doesn't remember what he said next day!) and shameless, NEVER really apologized to people for his involvement at all when he resigned but reluctantly admits guilt only when cornered by David Frost at the end of this interview after rambling about everything else for hrs and hrs, even blaming others for all that too! Well... reminds me of another "somebody" we all know who didn't resign from the office or apologized for his mistakes!!:P

Nixon gets paid $600000 in 1977 for this now widely watched interview, which made British journalist David Frost a household name, who is also the only journalist who has interviewed many leaders of the World including Shah of Iran. It makes you angry when Nixon says to David Frost "when the President does it, it's not illegal!" regarding the cover up etc., in this interview.

Very well acted by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen in the lead roles, Kevin Bacon is great as usual.Fascinating movie to watch, I can imagine how stressful it must have been to both Frost and Nixon to get thru' this one at that time!You also feel sorry for Nixonwhen he says to Frost when they meet privately, "I am just not suited to be liked, I don't have that kind of charm. Do you know how fortunate you are?". Ex President Richard Nixon died in 1994.

Bride WarsOne of those Chick flicks which I usually don't like to watch but watched this one for kookie Kate Hudson and my new fave actress Anne Hathaway. It's very funny and entertaining movie!Two "best friends" who dream about their "perfect weddings" since they were little girls, grow up, fall in love and get engaged. When they hire a wedding planner for their "perfect" weddings, she accidentally books the same date for both weddings! Best friends then get competitive "best enemies", even try to destroy eachother's wedding plans, not willing to give up on anything which is hilarious to watch. Now it's war, girly style!! After all that drama, what happens in the end is for you to watch, I don't want to spoil the fun!! :DHave a great weekend, see you all later! :)

Posted by
Asha

126 comments:

I guess you would have tried almost all kinds of cuisines..Iranian being the latest from the time I started visiting your blog..Your spreads are always one which would make a person hungry even if there is not a bit of place in the tummy after some heavy food..

That dill-y, beany polou looks beautiful, and I would love to taste the esfenaj borani. Guess I'd like the American sunny days rather than the Indian sunny days we're having now, tho' I'm not a cold person at all!

Wow I have never heard about that iranian dish, you do lot of special cusines.All of them looks so yumm, why do i always salvate in your place.Wish we had such good weather, here it is sunny but not so sunny as in your place.

Wow!! All the dishes looks lovely! Moong-coconut milk soup looks fabulous! Will try it! Almond rabri looks delicious and sounds very easy using a microwave! Iranian platter is very new to me.... Interesting recipes..Btw, thanks for giving me the link for butternut squash recipes.. will try them and let u know! Have a gr8 weekend!

Ashakka, i was eagerly waiting today for your post to find new surprises on ur blog...and as usual u surprised with a different cuisine...other than khari i never tasted anything of iranian food...Almond rabri looks very tempting and even the soup..infact everything is looking delicious...

u got me again..today I thought if I sit with a platter of Idli and Sambar and read your post things will be in control..but na after a couple of Idlis am hungry as ever after seeing your platter. I am eager to try out the spinach yoghurt tonight itself. The soup looks so refreshing and yeah healthy too for moong lovers like us. Wow MW rabri..now that's a whole new way for this dessert.

Nixon...well what to say about him..an exact replica of some of the highly corrupt shameless politicians back home..I like Anne Hathaway too and this movie sounds like fun by the way u have described it.It was 90 F here and I almost got grilled while hiking and was wondering all the while how I escaped from the Delhi summers unscathed.Have a great week ahead and hey did I read right..you have a curry plant on your deck?? wow..i have got some herbs and tomatoes as am a first time gardener and hoping that these guys are doing well in my hands

Pavani, just soak all the pots night before you leave thoroughly until the water comes out of the bottom and make sure they are all in a shady area rather than exposed to direct sunlight. We leave them like this too under the deck for about 8 days twice a year when we go for vacation too. Some will be dry and most will be alright. Water them again as soon as you return. If you feel that herbs are delciate to survive, you could water them and keep them inside the house as well, it will warm without the blazing Sun.Sweden sounds so good, I haven't been there yet. He will in Hawaii at the end of June! Enjoy without worrying about anything! :)

Sakshi, I do have one curry leaf plant. It was inside the house all Winter and now it's out and doing well. It needs lot of heat!I will make a post about my veggie patch etc in July or August.I have 2 posts already from 2007 and 2008.Good luck with your gardening! :)

Asha! Yay..mw rabdi n salad are on the top of my list! Wow..honestly that Irani Polou has been plated so well! Can have a scoop frm here! Finally Tushar has made it to FH space with some praise from you! (Succeeding Trisha postwise!:D) Loved the collage of tried dishes as well! The moong-coconut milk combo is truly something to crave for!Wd soak moong tonight for this!

LOL!! Purni, Tushar is all boy,very hyper and more interested in other things than the usual!! Although he has a brilliant mind and doesn't have to work hard as Trisha in studies, he is not as motivated as Trisha to achieve. Hopefully, he gets very serious in high school. He does very well in school but we tend to ignore the younger child! ;DHope he doesn't red this, I will be in trouble!:P

Hey Asha! Pass on my kudos to Tushar for the concert. My nephew Sujal has a tabla concert and he is also performing along with a dance troupe at his college in Rajkot. Have told him to send me the videos since I won't be attending. Will share on the blog once I get. Do you have a video of Tushar's concert?

You surprised me with the Vangyacha rassa. It is always exciting to see your recipe tried and tasted:). Thanks

Loved all the dishes Asha. I have been wanting to cook with Fava beans, tasted an Iranian rice dish with lamb and fava beans, like our Biryani in many ways. Rabri looks delicious. Will rent Frost/Nixon, have been wanting to see it. Kids want Marley and Me :(

Anjali, I was going to tell you about it and then I forgot, too many things going on here these days. Rasas was wonderful,thank you.Yes, we made a video but haven't downloaded yet from the camera, will link next week! Looking forward to your's too!:)

Indo, do you have this DVD boxes there?Look for the location in your city if they have it. They release new movies every Tuesday and it costs $1+tax per day. I don't go to Blockbuster anymore, too expensive!

The weather here has been unbearably hot too - it's like we skipped spring and headed right onto summer. Thanksfully we got some relief today with some showers. I feel the same way about cooking when it's so hot. The spreads look great and it was nice to read your movie reviews too.

We live in an area with a lot of Iranian population. So we find Iranian food a lot around the place. Lovely recipes. Love the addition of bread in the Rabri. Glad you are having a nice weather and your plants are doing great Ashakka!

That Moong Bhaji is realy yum..have to try..Loved the rice dish also Akka..loved the way you have presented.:)Ha..its hot here also..am taking a break after this week..:)..n cant wait to watch Bride wars..:)Hugs

That rice is so good Asha. we were in the persian restaurant, & my dd ordered grilled shrimp. they were served with the dill & saffron rice. i usually do not like dill too much, but this was really good.

What a colourful and eye-catching pictures Asha! I love the baghali polou, it looks soooo colorful and wonderful... I would love to grow plants too.. But can't do it here! :( Please share some of your plants' picture Asha!! :)

you really know how to pick the best of every cuisine. everything looks very yum.

i like Hathaway too :) but i'm jealous because i have a long list of books and movies to catch up to. i need to wait till my toddler grows out of the i want my mommy for everything phase and my husband thinks that will be when he turns 18 :D

Asha, how clever you are to use cinnamom bread! I can imagine that rabri would be tasty and thick! You should write a cookbook, I am fervantly waiting!another thing, thanks millions for giving me tips on making masala tea, it turns out GREAT! I have been drinking it everyday :D*big hug*

I very impressed..love all the dishes you have posted ..The Iranian Baghali polou is new to me..sounds interesting! i haven't noticed moong-coconut soup at her blog..It looks great..Nice entries,Asha..The heat is too much in India too..Dunno what we gonna do in May-June :(

I've never tried Iranian cuisine. But seeing your array of dishes, I'd rather come to your house than roam the world to try out various cuisines:)Of all the dishes in thsi post, I was most attracted to the coconut milk moon soup. Why? Because I'm a coconut addict :D.WOuld love to try this out some day. Have bookmarked it. God knows when I'll find time with all my travelling going on this month.I liked the dill rice too. Have seen this on very many blogs this week.For Rabri, i have no comments.....not a fan if it.

Thanks so much Asha. Will follow your advise. This is our first trip to Europe and we're very excited. Not sure what to expect in terms of food, but we are going to my Dh's brother's place, so we should be fine. Will post abt my trip once we come back. Have a wonderful weekend.

Asha, was here to take down the recipes of rabri, salad..just read ur comment. How true, I too feel the same..My elder one is daughter and puts efforts in her studies at such a tender age..younger one will not even take one percent effort, though has displayed his intelligence several times..n agreed younger ones are ignored, but never escaped chidding frm me! :D Hv a great weekend.

Wow....those dishes look fantastic. The Iranian dishes look like something we would order from a restaurant :) Now I am eagerly waiting for next Wednesday to find out what you are upto ;) We just watched All the Presidents Men. Will ahve to wait for sometime now to watch Frost/Nixon...otherwise we'll get an overdose of politics :) Anne Hathaway is my fav too.

Your Iranian dishes are totally new to me and thanks for joining in on T&T.If you want to see hot, you should definitely head to India. Its so hot here, that my plants are wilting!! Can't wait to have the monsoons here. :)

Asha, (as I type, its showing 100 comments..a century! :D) We both loved the salad, it went well with Meera's(EIF) Palak Pullao, and yes..you wont believe, my kids thought Rabdi to be some kind of spread, and insisted on eating chapatis with it! Can u beat it! My 4 yr old girl went wow with every bite n praise 'you hv made it so tasty!' and all the time I put in was negligible in making of this instant hit! :D THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH..you lovely bloggers are my recipe bible and how much of oxygen you are becoming for my day to day cooking goes unsaid!HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Sig, nothing that special, just doing something I haven't had the time for years! :)

Purni, isn't that so easy to make. You know, it would go nicely with poori and chapatis too, never thought about it. You kids are so clever! Glad you made it, makes a great great breakfast too, right? Enjoy! :)

Asha, just here to say I made this 'moong soup' ie curry yest and we relished it..today I made the podi chutney wt curd n rai-c.l tadka..that too was different n we liked it! Tks for sharing!! Have a great time!

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